Last month’s killing of two suspected Namibian poachers in Botswana by that country’s armed forces has been hailed by many citizens in that country, contrary to opinions in Namibia that the killings were senseless and an infringement of human rights.

Online readers of the Botswana newspaper Mmegi hailed members of the Botswana Defence Force (BDF) who carried out the shootings that killed one Namibian on the spot and another a distance away after attempting to flee. The two men, Richard Munguni Siyauya and Bryana Nyambe Nyambe from the Nakabolelwa village in the Caprivi Region, were allegedly found attempting to poach in the highly restricted Chobe National Park inside Botswana before they ran into their would-be killers. Those who shot them claimed there was an exchange of fire between themselves and the suspected poachers although police in the Caprivi have questioned the credibility of such claims. One was dead on the spot and another was wounded before crawling towards the Zambezi River, in which he was suspected to have drowned. Both bodies have been recovered, according to the BDF’s Public Affairs Officer, Colonel Paul Sharp. He confirmed that a joint investigation by his country’s police and their Namibian counterparts is now underway. While Botswana reserves the right to protect its wildlife from poachers, both local and foreign, the action of its armed forces on Namibians is seen by many as extreme. But contrary to such views, many people in Botswana have welcomed the killings, saying their wildlife must be protected at all cost. More....